PROTECTION FROM DECEPTION

PROTECTION FROM DECEPTION.

 

Back in 1996 Derek Prince wrote a little booklet by this name, and also recorded the same message on cassettes as a 3 part teaching on separate tapes. We had these transposed to CD, and now have them available. Derek felt this teaching was necessary to warn believers about what was happening in Toronto at the time. Deception in the body of Christ is warned about in scripture, especially in the last days in which we are living! Derek believed that what we saw in Toronto was a "mixture of spirits", what started out as a move of God's Holy Spirit soon became contaminated by spirits sent out by Satan, to bring "confusion" and "division" in the body of Christ. A brief survey of past revivals clearly shows that this happened to them all. He clearly points to a lack of understanding between the spirit of man, and the soul of man. As you know humans are a three part being, spirit, soul, and body, as described by Paul in (1 Thess 5:23). The body is easy to identify because it is visible, but the spirit and soul are both invisible, and their functions are often confused. In (John 4:23-24) Jesus clearly states that God is Spirit, and those who worship Him "must" worship in "spirit" and in truth! We can praise and thank God with our soul, but "only" worship Him with our spirit. There is definitely a difference between the two!

 

Apparently the two are so closely connected together that only the Word of God can divide between them, (Heb 4:12), In many Charismatic circles there has never been much emphasis on the Word of God, but more on the signs and wonders, and spectacular manifestations. The scriptures do speak about signs and wonders in these last days, but as much, or even more, about false signs than true Godly signs. These signs will be done by false messengers disguising themselves as real ones. See (2 Cor 11:13-15) and also Paul warns us to beware, especially when the Antichrist comes on the scene, just before the return of Jesus,

(2 Thess 2:1-12). No one knows when this will be, but we do know that many of the signs Jesus said will precede His coming are already happening. (Matt 24:4-8). Therefore we need to test everything in out services today with God's Word (1 Thess 5:19-22), and exercise discernment which comes from spiritual maturity (Heb 5:11-14). And then we should be praying for the gift of the Holy Spirit described by Paul in (1 Cor 12:10) NLT. All the above are included in preparing ourselves from the potential of deception we can expect to come our way in the future, according to scripture!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

OUR TRUE VALUE

OUR TRUE VALUE

 

We often hear someone ask another person "who are you?', and the answer would probably be a description of what the do for a living, such as oh I'm a nurse, or a carpenter, or a teacher etc. That is what you do, not who you are! We are known as human "beings", not human "doings", but we usually would answer that question the same way by explaining what we do. We should all give some serious thought as to the proper way to answer that sort of question. Our answer should be a refection of how we see ourselves, and I think that should be the way that our Creator sees us. The Bible tells us that He sees us as a person of tremendous worth, a person worth allowing Jesus, His only begotten Son, to die for! That could be considered our "True Value", and not necessarily the value we might place on ourselves. Some people have a problem with pride, and thinking of themselves as more valuable to society than they really are. But the scriptures tell us we should humble ourselves, and (James 4:7) gives us this instruction. Then in (Matt 5:5) we read in the NLT "God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth". These are the recorded words of Jesus as part of his "Sermon on the Mount", and therefore should be heeded.

 

On the other hand there are people who have never accepted how God has made them. They have very low self esteem, and really don't like themselves. This attitude can come out in different ways, but generally it results in them being very difficult people to get along with because they tend to be negative about everything! When you meet someone like this, know that there has to be a reason they feel this way about themselves, and don't judge them. Encourage them to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, and be adopted by the Father into His Forever Family, then the proper answer to the question "who are you" should be I am a "follower of Jesus"! I find this is a better answer than just saying you are a Christian, because that term means different things to different people. In (Mark 1:16-20) we read about

Jesus calling the first of His 12 disciples to follow Him. His word to them was "Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for men", NLT. I believe that call is still going out today from Jesus to all who hear what the Holy Spirit is saying. Then people can come to know their "True value"!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

what is evil?

WHAT IS EVIL?

 

I just heard something on Huntley Street program today, April 1, 2010 by John Stackhouse, who is a professor of theology at Regent College out in Vancouver B.C. that really "rattled my cage", as the saying goes! He stated that there is no such thing as "evil", that it is not a noun, but an adjective! This was news to me, because I have always used it as a noun. You probably learned the difference between these two words way back in elementary school, and don't need me to remind you that an adjective can never take the place of a noun, but only add to its meaning. We have often heard the question, "why would God ever create evil?", as if it was His fault. The fact of the matter is that He never created evil, only beings with a free will that are capable of making decisions. When one of these beings makes a bad choice that results in an evil decision, then that person is guilty of making that evil choice but is not an evil person because of it.

 

As I understand scripture, the first person to ever use his free will to oppose the perfect will of our Creator God was Lucifer. He was a created invisible being in the angelic class of servants God created to help Him look after the universe. The scripture identifies three angels as "archangels", Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer, who were each given a certain number of ordinary angels to oversee in carrying out their duties. In (Isa 14:12-23), and (Ezek 28:11-19) we can read about how Lucifer, through pride and rebellion, used his will to oppose the perfect will of God, and as a result was cast out of heaven and down to earth. There he deceived Adam and Eve, who had been placed in charge of this planet by their Creator, with only one restriction to keep, which they disobeyed and brought "sin" into the human race, (Rom 5:12) As a result of this one sin of disobedience to a direct command of God, Adam brought the whole of creation under bondage to sin and Satan. That is when God set in motion His plan of redemption, which included His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, taking on human form by way of the incarnation, and dying on a cross on Calvary. We remember this sacrifice on Good Friday each year, and His victorious "Resurrection" three days later! God proved His sovereign power over death by raising Jesus from the tomb, and now the good news is that all who put their faith in what He accomplished by His death and resurrection, can receive eternal life, and be adopted into God's "Forever Family"! This is the answer for evil choices that result in separation from God. Remember "evil" is an adjective and not a noun!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

BAPTIZED PAGANS

BAPTIZED PAGANS

 

The first time I heard this expression, was several years ago from a Catholic brother who knows Jesus, and is filled with His Spirit. He was describing fellow members of the Catholic faith who have never experienced personal faith in Jesus, or we would say have never been "born again". Lately I have come to realize that it is not only in the Catholic Church that you find people who fall into this category! I expect you can find them in nearly every church body. In fact I must confess that I was a "baptized pagan" for nearly 10 years, while attending several Baptist Churches as a member! I didn't know it then, and only came to know the difference between being a member of some church, and being a member of the family of God much later. Whenever I meet someone who thinks their infant baptism assures them of entrance into heaven when they die, I try to explain to them that the only difference between their baptism and mine was a matter of years. They were done as a baby, I was done as an 18 year old, but we were both sinners in need of a Savior! It was actually 10 years later that I accepted Jesus as my Savior while listening to the preaching of (Rom 3:23), and realized that even though I was a church member, I was a lost sinner and would go to hell if I died in that condition!

 

I feel sorry for well meaning people who have been told that their "christening" as a baby, was really their baptism into the "church", and that following their "confirmation" they are now assured they are ready for heaven. I have met many people like this in my journey, whose life does not portray Christ like qualities, and yet they consider themselves "Christians". Our church system of "man made" traditions is responsible for this situation, and I expect someone will have to answer to God for this. The people are victims, but will suffer in the flames of hell because they were misled by spiritual leaders. If the simple gospel of the Kingdom was being preached to people, instead of some watered down version, perhaps more people would repent of their sinful condition, ask for and receive forgiveness from Jesus and be adopted into God's family by the Father! I suppose we can't place all the blame on our spiritual leaders. Those of us who are followers of Jesus must accept our share of the blame, for not being more diligent in sharing the good news of the gospel with those we come in contact with. That is why God left us here on this earth after we receive the gift of eternal life, so we can be witnesses of faith in Jesus! (Acts 1:8)

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer